{"id":18996,"date":"2014-01-20T15:03:05","date_gmt":"2014-01-20T20:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=18996"},"modified":"2014-08-18T14:54:16","modified_gmt":"2014-08-18T18:54:16","slug":"graduating-as-h-s-valedictorian-at-16-slashcheva-11-racks-up-accomplishments-on-way-to-being-public-service-dentist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/graduating-as-h-s-valedictorian-at-16-slashcheva-11-racks-up-accomplishments-on-way-to-being-public-service-dentist\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduating as h.s. valedictorian at 16, Slashcheva \u201911 racks up accomplishments on way to being public-service dentist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lyubov Slashcheva has an awfully long resume of accomplishments for a 21-year-old. Add to this her start in life\u2014in a small mining town in a remote corner of the former Russian Empire.<\/p>\n

Slashcheva emigrated from Kazakhstan to the United States with her family at age 5. She started kindergarten in Harrisonburg, Va., with no knowledge of English. Thanks to an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teacher, though, she got off to a good start.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ESL teacher engaged in my siblings\u2019 and my lives well beyond the classroom,\u201d Slashcheva says, \u201cequipping us with the skills and motivation to succeed and excel in academics even as immigrant children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten years later Slashcheva was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Turner Ashby High School. At age 16? Yes, she had just finished her sophomore year, but she had acquired two years\u2019 worth of credits by taking classes on the side at Blue Ridge Community College.<\/p>\n

That fall of 2009 she planned to follow her older sister who had earned a nursing degree<\/a> at Eastern Mennonite University. \u201cNursing seemed like an attainable goal for an immigrant child,\u201d she says, \u201cand I was fascinated with science and passionate about serving others.\u201d<\/p>\n

But two weeks before starting college, Slashcheva went to a dentist\u2019s office with her father to interpret for him. Dr. Dave Kenee was impressed with her and challenged her to consider a career in dentistry. Within a few weeks, she was shadowing Kenee at his practice and had transitioned into a pre-dental major<\/a> at EMU.<\/p>\n

Slashcheva was in a hurry to get started in her life\u2019s work. It took her only 2\u00bd years to get through EMU, by taking summer classes and applying previous college credits from Blue Ridge. And she was already building her r\u00e9sum\u00e9. While at EMU she worked in the university\u2019s Early Learning Center<\/a>, volunteered at Harrisonburg-Rockingham Free Clinic<\/a>, and traveled to Lithuania for three months as part of EMU\u2019s cross-cultural program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She found time to continue her interest in music by playing flute in EMU\u2019s chamber orchestra<\/a> and directing the choir at her church, First Russian Baptist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Slashcheva looked for a dental school that shared EMU\u2019s emphasis on service. She won a competitive scholarship to dental school from the federal government\u2019s National Health Service Corps<\/a>, which pays her entire tuition bill as well as a monthly stipend. She chose Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.<\/p>\n

So how did Slashcheva spend her time between graduating from EMU in December 2011 and entering VCU in August 2012? Take a break and leisurely prepare for dental school? No, she went on a four-month mission trip under the Luke Society<\/a>. She worked in dentistry and oral health in Honduras and Peru. \u201cThat developed my fascination for public health,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

At age 19, Slashcheva entered the VCU School of Dentistry, plunging into her studies as well as student clubs and professional organizations. Her growing r\u00e9sum\u00e9 now includes president of Inter Health Professionals Alliance for VCU<\/a> and nearby Medical College of Virginia (now with over 300 student members), director of tEEEth talk Community Education Workshops, founder\/president of Special Care Interest Group, student leader of Christian Medical and Dental Association, and graduate teaching assistant for undergraduate students who are about her age.<\/p>\n

Some of Slashcheva\u2019s professors question why she is so involved in service programs at a time when she should be focusing on her professional development as a dentist. \u201cBut I want to be a Christian who happens to be a dentist\u2014and not the other way around,\u201d she says. \u201cI learned that at EMU.\u201d She also learned to integrate faith and science.<\/p>\n

Slashcheva is active at First Mennonite Church of Richmond<\/a>, where she is the music coordinator and a delegate to Virginia Mennonite Conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for the future Slashcheva when she graduates from VCU in 2016? \u201cAs a National Health Service Corps dental scholar, I have committed to practicing dentistry in an underserved area for four years at the start of my career,\u201d she says. The commitment can be deferred, however, if she wants to seek specialty training. At this point she is thinking about post-graduate study in dental public health and geriatric dentistry.<\/p>\n

A long r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is not Slashcheva\u2019s goal. But she is determined to surpass boundaries that were considered insurmountable. And she is driven to pursue a life of service that comes from her Christian family upbringing in a disadvantaged immigrant community.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarly in my immigrant life, I realized that I may never completely assimilate into my surroundings,\u201d says Slashcheva. \u201cSo I found it necessary to choose between being inferior or being extraordinary among my peers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lyubov Slashcheva has an awfully long resume of accomplishments for a 21-year-old. Add to this her start in life\u2014in a small mining town in a remote corner of the former ... read more about Graduating as h.s. valedictorian at 16, Slashcheva \u201911 racks up accomplishments on way to being public-service dentist<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":18999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4515,266,5590,12579,5730],"tags":[11173,14214,9063,14007,8236,14004,17361,14586,17360,11730,14005,7792],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-18996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-biology","category-pre-professional-health","category-undergraduate-programs","tag-chamber-orchestra","tag-cross-cultural-program","tag-early-learning-center","tag-first-russian-baptist","tag-harrisonburg-rockingham-free-clinic","tag-lyubov-slashcheva","tag-mennonite-churches-and-schools","tag-national-health-service-corps","tag-nursing","tag-pphs","tag-pre-dental","tag-virginia-mennonite-conference"],"yoast_head":"\nGraduating as h.s. valedictorian at 16, Slashcheva \u201911 racks up accomplishments on way to being public-service dentist - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2014\/graduating-as-h-s-valedictorian-at-16-slashcheva-11-racks-up-accomplishments-on-way-to-being-public-service-dentist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Graduating as h.s. valedictorian at 16, Slashcheva \u201911 racks up accomplishments on way to being public-service dentist - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lyubov Slashcheva has an awfully long resume of accomplishments for a 21-year-old. 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